After two weeks of pre-recorded (and absolutely hilarious) episodes, your friends in podcasting are back at it, doing what they do best: Making sense of a world gone wild through insightful, irreverent and inspiring conversation. Dean tells tales of recovery after complete knee reconstruction surgery. Phil tells tales of Fuzz Aldrin’s attempted recovery from neurological damage. They preview this week’s screening of their film The Lady Killers in San Jose! Then, Dean and Phil roll up their sleeves to tackle the 8th US school shooting of 2018 and what Hollywood can do to affect positive change.

On their most recent shows, Dean and Phil turned their usual “Celebrity Deaths” segment into a bit of a game show. They will be doing more of the same as they celebrate the lives and careers of an actress involved with the Hollywood Ten, an influential gospel singer, the lead singer of The Cranberries, the founder of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, a young Australian actress, the creator of “WKRP in Cincinnati” and the inspiration for Austin Powers. We are into the 2nd half of what seems likely to be the final season of “The X-Files”, even though, it’s been quite a good season. The first season of “Star Trek: Discovery” has come to a close and although it was pretty darn bad, there will be a second season. Dean and Phil analyze both these shows and where they fit into the cultural landscape. All that plus a brief discussion about Stanley Tucci’s latest directorial effort and the opening salvo in what promises to be a barn-burner of an ongoing argument over the merits of “Twin Peaks: The Return”.

In a fascinating and very funny installment of your Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness begin by catching up on some of the many “Celebrity Deaths” from early this year that you might not have heard about! Not only that, but for the first time ever, they turn these celebrations into a sort of game show. As they discuss doing just that there is a few second-long audio glitch, so bear with us. Also, Phil promises to go easy on snacking during future episodes!

A female TV cop, the Emmy award-winning brother of Dick Van Dyke, the Queen of the Blues, the detective who investigated the Zodiac killer case, a classic heavy metal guitarist, the last remaining original Mouseketeer, the voice of college football, and the first female US general are all remembered. Then Marc Hershon rejoins your friends in podcasting for the 2nd half of the show to discuss hilarious stories about his career in corporate branding, his career as a comedy impresario (replete with stories of big stars), depictions of improv and stand-up comics in film and TV, and robots!

You’ll be laughing so much, the insight of some of the discussion might just sneak up on you!

Because Dean Haglund is going “under the knife” to get a new knee this weekend, he and Phil Leirness, recorded two podcasts worth of material, just in case it takes him a little while to feel up to podcasting again …

In the first of these two shows, Dean and Phil discuss the short Buster Keaton made for the National Film Board in Canada in 1965 and the documentary about the making of that short. Then, it’s the return of “Lawsuit of the Week”, with the great Warren Beatty being sued by the distributor of his recent, and sadly overlooked, box office failure Rules Don’t Apply. And somehow, that leads into a discussion of modern musicals, La La Land, The Shape of Water, Richard Jenkins, and Holy Motors.

As long as it had been since the last time your friends in podcasting covered a “Lawsuit of the Week”, it had been even longer since they offered an “Explanation of the Week”, but that is at long last remedied, as Phil tells an amazing story about his beloved sick kitty Fuzz Aldrin, and that story leads into a fascinating explanation about brain waves, the power of visualizations, the healing nature of creativity and more … There is barely any time to make a dent in all the “Celebrity Deaths” that have been piling up, but legendary astronaut John Young does get remembered just before Dean and Phil are joined by long-time friend to the show, Marc Hershon, the producer and host of the Comedy Podcast “Soundcast”, Succotash. In part 1 of a 2 part conversation, the end of “Succotash” and the rampant proliferation of podcasts (and podcast listeners) are discussed. Marc shares an hilarious story about the rather brilliant TJ Miller.

All in all, a truly nourishing, inspiring, thought-provoking and hilarious installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour.

Dean is having surgery this week and Phil’s cat, Fuzz Aldrin, continues her brave recovery. Because some of you asked for updates on these matters, your friends in podcasting begin this week’s epic installment with fascinating and inspiring stories pertaining to them. Then, it’s all about movies …

The critics groups have all awarded their favorites. The professional guilds and unions have honored theirs. The Academy Award nominations were announced, which your Dean and Phil analyze a bit on the show. For the most part, however, this week it’s Dean and Phil’s turn. Keep those Netflix queues handy as the gents count down their Top Ten Films of 2017. And, of course, far more than 20 films will get discussed in what is an extra-long installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, one that truly stretches the definition of “hour”! Trust us, they go off the beaten path for their choices this year in an effort to champion some films that were sadly overlooked or under-marketed. Discover cinematic gems and regale in hilarious, irreverent, and occasionally insightful bickering.

This week’s show begins with an update on how the fierce, determined and ridiculously cute cat Fuzz Aldrin is recovering (you can help with that recovery by visiting http://gofundme.com/save-fuzz-aldrin”). She had to have another emergency procedure this week, which leads to a rather hilarious story about Lily Holleman, “Junior Pet Detective”. It also leads to a conversation about a surgical procedure Dean Haglund will be undergoing the first week of February. Then, Dean and Phil Leirness discuss movies – two “classics” (the comedy To Be or Not to Be and the musical Brigadoon), and five recent releases (Darren Aronosky’s Mother!, Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, Dan Gilroy’s Roman J. Israel, Esq., Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water and the big winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MIssouri).

For the first time in weeks, your friends in podcasting tackle “Celebrity Deaths”, celebrating the life and careers of record producer Rick Hall, actress-singer Rose Marie and film noir icon Peggy Cummins. Then, they tackle the “small screen”, with Phil weighing in on the new Fox sitcom “LA to Vegas”, with Dean assessing the most recent “mirror universe” episode of “Star Trek: Discover” (“The Wolf Inside”), and the two of them discussing the thematic meanings of Season 11 of “The X-Files”, of the most recent episode (“Plus One”) and what the future might hold for the show with or without Gillian Anderson.

This week’s episode begins with your friends in podcasting sharing some of the many messages they received regarding their respective Top Ten lists of their all-time favorite War Movies. Several of these messages, and Dean and Phil’s responses, are hilarious! From there, they turn to heartfelt thoughts about how much animal companions have meant to their lives and their work. Dean confides that his dobermans (who were both featured in The Truth Is Out There) were his muses, and even after their deaths, they still are. Phil shares the heart-wrenching struggle to save his beloved feline companion, Fuzz Aldrin and how Chillpak nation has been helping to give this story a happy ending (join Team Fuzz and help share her story at GoFundMe.com/save-fuzz-aldrin).

The rest of the show is dedicated to the return of three iconic television brands. David Letterman is back, returning with a new Netflix show. Dean and Phil tackle why he’s back and the role this show might play in the current cultural landscape. “Star Trek: Discovery” is back, with the second part of its inaugural season. Why its return might actually hint at both improvement, and perhaps, increased acceptance, even though, as Dean reveals, they are still finding ways to “stub their toes” on each episode. Finally, “The X-Files” is back, debuting with a season premiere that was greeted as another clunker, but which was followed up by a VERY interesting episode of television (“This”). Dean and Phil tackle what the show has to say about the world today, about the ways in which the show has been retconned (a la “Twin Peaks”) for its return, about how the return of Dean’s character came about, and where that return might lead, about the inclusion of “This Man” and what that inclusion says about some of the misgivings the creators of “The X-Files” might have about the show’s cultural impact. Trust us, this discussion is positively mind-blowing.

The hilarious. The heartfelt. The mind-blowing. Sure sounds like YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour (with 10% more “hour”) to us!

It’s a special Top Ten show! Your friends in podcasting count down their all time favorite War Films! It’s amazing how many different sub-genres of war films, Dean and Phil discover and more than thirty films actually get discussed. Trust us – It’s totally awesome.

This week’s show is an interesting one that your friends in podcasting recorded together in Los Angeles. It starts with Dean describing two “Live Events of the Week” – a production of Something Rotten! and the debut Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation exhibit at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center on Wilshire – and Phil describing the truly horrible Office Christmas Party and the terrific The Trip to Spain. The show continues with Dean’s interview of one of the creative souls behind The X-Files: Deep State game. Then, Dean and Phil roll up their sleeves to figure out what’s right with “Star Trek: Discovery”, what’s wrong with it, and why viewers seem to hate it so much! All that plus a legendary broadcaster and a peerless singer are remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Monday. 9 am Pacific. The first episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour in 2018, wherever good podcasts can be found!

A lit bit of a Holiday pastiche, the bulk of this week’s episode was recorded on the meant streets of L.A. as Phil Leirness drove Dean Haglund from LAX to a certain “historic building in downtown Los Angeles.” How sick IS Phil? How did Dean spend his 19 hours in transit? What are their holiday plans? Find out … Plus a lot of TV and movie talk from your friends in podcasting. Happy Holidays, everybody!

Your friends in podcasting discuss one of the most sad Christmas celebrations in history, before discussing the deaths of a pop music star, a Native American character actor, a documentary filmmaker and the mayor of SF. Then, Phil turns his attention to one of the most surprising facts to come out of the Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox and Dean tries to calm him down. Then, they delve into the trouble engulfing Matt Damon, before weighing in on three brand new Oscar hopefuls: Downsizing (starring Mr. Damon), Phantom Thread (starring Daniel Day Lewis in his final role), and the rather miraculous All The Money In The World. All that, plus Kyle Machlachlan weighs in on whether “Twin Peaks: The Return” was a terrific season of a television series or whether it was one of the best feature films of the year, and a fantastic note from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) is shared.

Dean Haglund, the actor, improv comic and inventor (best known as “Langly,” one of the three computer-hacking geeks on “The X-Files” and their spin-off series “The Lone Gunmen”) engages in thought-provoking, insightful, and irreverent cultural conversation with his co-host and producing partner, independent filmmaker and certified violence prevention specialist Phil Leirness in the production offices of Rational Exuberance. Warning: Dean and Phil's usually hilarious and frequently inspiring discussions are habit-forming, so please, enjoy responsibly!